Seed samples from two near-isogenic faba bean (Vicia faba L.) lines were examined for the levels of so-called anti-nutritional factors (ANF). From the ANF known to be present in faba beans, trypsin inhibitor activity, functional lectins, condensed tannins and pyrimidine glycosides were analysed. It was concluded that the lines differed only in the content of condensed tannins being < 0.5 g/kg a...

Phenolic compounds often accumulate in foliar tissues of deciduous woody plants in response to previous insect defoliation, but similar responses have been observed infrequently in evergreen conifers. We studied the effects of defoliation on the foliar chemistry of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and cocoon mass, and survival of the pine sawfly (Diprion pini L.). In two successive years, needl...

Comparisons ?1 of the effects of leaf litter chemistry on leaf breakdown rates in tropical vs temperate streams are hindered by incompatibility among studies and across sites of analytical methods used to measure leaf chemistry. ?2 We used standardized analytical techniques to measure chemistry and breakdown rate of leaves from common riparian tree species at 2 sites, 1 tropical and 1 temperate...

In addition to the commonly used classification as hydrolyzable tannins and condensed tannins, tannins can also be categorized into two other types: polyphenols of constant chemical structure (Type A) and polyphenols of variable composition (Type B). Both types of tannins and related polyphenols account for a large part of plant polyphenols, but accurate structure-activity correlations on a mol...